Kevin Tolman

Birdsong, 36x36, Tolman

These paintings are by Kevin Tolman, and I love them. One of the galleries that has some of his work, Karan Ruhlen Gallery, is right across the street from me in Santa Fe. Josh and I got to see them in person a few weekends ago. I loved them and Josh wasn't too sure about them, because for him they are stuck somewhere between completely random and order. I relish in the tiny details in them and the colors that were chosen. They are bold, but muted at the same time. There's something about them that reminds me of calm, quiet people. They are very interesting, but you have to look at them/ get to know them to see that quality.

Canal St. Martin/French Blue, 48"x48", Tolman

 

Otono Camino Real, 42"x48", Tolman

Sunny Circus, 24"x24", Tolman

Also, if anyone wants to buy one for me, my favorite is "Canal St. Martin/ French Blue."  :))

What Made Milwaukee Famous Concert

For the most part, I am convinced New Mexico is not a good place. But when it gives you something good, it's really good. Like jobs and Killers concerts. There is a free summer concert series here that Josh was always telling me about before I moved out, but I never had any clue who any of the bands were. When the schedule for this year's concerts were posted, I was completely baffled by the first band. It was What Made Milwaukee Famous!!! 

I saw them on Austin City Limits live when I was in high school and have been a fan since. Two of the radio stations in Austin would play them pretty often, so that was cool. I was really confused why they were playing a show in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, but I chose to not ask questions and go with it.

 Josh and I went to the concert on Friday and it was fantastic. They were booked to play for 2 hours, so during the intermission we walked over to their van and got to meet them!! They were super nice and easy going, so I got a picture with them and we talked to them for a long time. The lead singer asked if I had any requests (of course I did) so I asked for them to play "Curtains!" because it is my favorite of theirs.

When they got back on stage for the second half of the show, they totally played the song I requested AND gave me a shout out. "We're going to play Curtains now, and this one is for Julie." It was the best and I probably got on Josh's nerves elbowing him every 30 seconds during the song saying, "They gave me a shout out!!!!!!!!!!!!" Josh and I were also impressed with their array of cover songs. They played "House of the Rising Sun" by the Animals (for me) and some ZZ Top (for Josh).

Success!!

Currently

This is what Albuquerque looks like; May 2013

Loving: Meeting people from Texas who come into the gallery! The Texas accent stands out SO much more now that I'm not around it all the time. Several people from Austin have come in and asked me if I thought Santa Fe was a lot like Austin. I told them yes, but now that I think about it- no. Austin is ten times more fun than Santa Fe. But! I am not retired, looking to buy art or an artist of Southwestern art. Maybe I'm not the best person to ask?

Reading: Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Watching: All of the "Happy Endings" epidsodes I can get my paws on, because ABC cancels all of my favorite shows. (But really- Pushing Daisies, Ugly Betty. They probably cancelled the X-Files even though that show was on Fox.)

Thinking about: Sweet talking one of the gallery's artists into getting her to take her horses (and me!) to the Jemez Mountains on one of the days in the summer months they let people ride horses on the trails through the mountains. That would be awesome. Double awesome.

Excited about: Seeing What Made Milwaukee Famous in concert on Friday!! They are randomly making an appearance at a local summer concert series. I'll take it!

Looking forward to: My Mom coming out to visit! And our friends KayLynn and Micheal coming to visit!

Making me happy: Josh laughing hysterically at Duck Dynasty. The Robertsons are his kind of funny.

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Also, today my blog friend Sara is featuring me in her "A Day In the Life" series on her blog, Sunshine & Pretty Things! She is so fun to work with and I can't wait to see all of the other posts in this series! Exclamation marks for everyone!!!!

It's About Time

julieclairewilliams.weebly.com

I finally finished my website!

Yes, I probably should have fixed it up right after I graduated, but I had naps to take, you guys.

It now has all of my projects and all of the different mediums I work in.

It's fun to see everything together.

I didn't realize how many different things they had us do at school!

Weekend Happenings

Passport to the Arts was on Saturday morning, so Josh and I went to see my co-worker, Alvin Gill-Tapia paint in the Quick Draw. I liked seeing all of the different palettes that the artist were working from, because I'm real nosy and like to know how people get to a certain color.

 After that, we wandered around to some other galleries and just so happened to meet an Irish Terrier named Julie. Julie!! Her dad said that she was the most laid back terrier he'd ever met. She was a little shy, but we bonded as fellow shy Julies.

Then we had a pizza picnic with some friends at a local park and I threw their frisbee in the pond.

I'm such a jerk, I know.

Who calls YOU at work?

Sometimes Mr. T calls me.

Albuquerque EdgeFest 2013

It was no Austin City Limits Musical Festival, but the Albuquerque Edgefest on Sunday was pretty good. As a matter of fact it was excellent. The Albuquerque music scene is really into the post-punk hard core thing that Josh and I do not enjoy. BUT! The line up randomly included some bands that we like a whole lot.

This was Young Blood Hawke. They were great.

Then! One of our favorite bands, Shiny Toy Guns was up. I like to really belt out their songs, so that was a fun concert for everyone around me I'm sure.

Here is what we remember of their playlist:

Carrie

Le Disko

Ricochet

Major Tom

Somewhere to Hide

Rainy Monday

Don't Cry Out

Starts With One

You Are the One

Cake was there for crying out loud! They are 10x better live than on their albums. That might be the same for all artists?

They played these songs, but Josh and I can't remember the exact play list:

Frank Sinatra

Sheep Go to Heaven

Never There

Stick Shifts and Safety Belts

Mustache Man

Long Time

Mexico

War Pigs

Sick of You

Short Skirt/Long Jacket

The Distance

*insert drumroll for next band*

THE KIIILLLLLEEEEEEEERRRRSSSSS!

High school Julie would have freaked out if she got to see them, so I went ahead and sang all of the songs with them. Josh too. Their first album came out when I was a freshman in high school and I have listen to it nonstop since then. They are amazing in concert. We are talking fireworks with three different songs, confetti with one and perfect note hitting from Mr. Flowers.

I was way too busy jumping around to remember this set list:

Mr. Brightside

Spaceman

For Reasons Unknown

Miss Atomic Bomb

When You Were Young

Shadowplay

Human

Albuquerque (cover)

Runaways

A Dustland Fairytale

From Here On Out

Somebody Told Me

Smile Like You Mean It

Post confetti

Some fireworks!